This invention relates to apparatus and a process for moulding parisons for glass bottles or other hollow glass ware, using automatic machinery and with provision for the periodic spraying of lubricant onto the moulds. Lubricant spray can also be applied to the neck rings.
In the conventional processes for moulding parisons, a pair of so-called "blank" moulds close together over a neck ring, a funnel is placed over the mould cavity, a gob of glass is dropped into the mould cavity through the funnel, and subsequently the funnel is removed, a baffle is put over the mould cavity to close its upper end and air is blown in at the bottom of the moulds to blow the gob out into a parison. After this the blank moulds open and the neck ring carries the parison away to the "blow" or "finish" moulds where it is blown out into the finished ware. In the "press and blow" process the gob is initially pressed out by a plunger inserted at the bottom, before it is blown out. In the "blow and blow" process the baffle is placed over the funnel and used to blow "settle air" into the mould, pressing the gob down and around a plunger at the bottom, before the gob is blown out into a parison with the funnel removed. Direct loading is a variation in which the funnel is not employed to guide the gob into the mould cavity. However, it may still be employed for blowing in settle air. Another variation is the use of a baffle with a valve in it. This can be used to blow settle air directly from the baffle into the mould instead of delivering it through a funnel, in which case the funnel may be used solely for loading the gob.
The present invention can be employed with all these forms of process.
The usual machine for carrying out these processes is the so-called IS (Independent Section) machine. This has several sections each provided with a pair of blank moulds (which may define one, two, three or more cavities). At each section there is an arm to position the funnels on top of the moulds. There is another arm to position the baffles on top of the funnels, or directly on top of the moulds.
The lubricant of the blank moulds has been performed by hand for many years. There have been numerous attempts to devise apparatus for doing this. In particular there have been various proposals to spray from above into the mould cavities defined by closed blank moulds. Any equipment for this purpose must necessarily be movable because it must not obstruct entry of the gob or removal of the parison. A glass moulding machine provides very little space for additional equipment, especially because of the need to accommodate the paths of travel of the baffle and funnel arms. A further problem is the vibration and shocks set up by the movement of heavy parts.